'Time goes by fast' in retirement

Catching up with Wayne Walker

Wayne Walker spent 20 years as the sports director for KPIX (Channel 5). Now more than a decade into retirement, he still closely follows sports, but in a much more personal way.

It's one thing to report on professional and college athletes. It's another to watch five grandsons play baseball, basketball, football and hockey.

"It seems like all I do on the weekends is go from one game to the next," Walker said in a recent phone interview. "It's as much fun as I've had doing anything."

Walker and his wife, Sylvia, returned to his hometown of Boise, Idaho, after his career ended at KPIX in May 1994. His two sons, Steve and Doug, also live in the Boise area, and they have a combined five sons who keep Wayne busy on the weekends (his daughter Kathy lives in the East Bay and has two boys and a girl).

Golfing, fishing, working with a personal trainer and doing things with Sylvia are typical items on Walker's weekday agenda.

"My time goes by fast," he said. "It goes by in really a good way."

walker04_2.jpg Wayne Walker, Sportscaster - May 16 1978

walker04_2.jpg Wayne Walker, Sportscaster - May 16 1978

Photo: Clem Albers, The Chronicle, File 1978

Photo: Clem Albers, The Chronicle, File 1978

Image
1of/4

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 4

walker04_2.jpg Wayne Walker, Sportscaster - May 16 1978

walker04_2.jpg Wayne Walker, Sportscaster - May 16 1978

Photo: Clem Albers, The Chronicle, File 1978

'Time goes by fast' in retirement

1 / 4

Back to Gallery

Longevity was one of the hallmarks of Walker's careers in football and in broadcasting. He spent 15 years (1958-72) as an outside linebacker with the Lions. In addition to his 1974-94 ride at Channel 5, Walker became one of football's top color commentators, working games for CBS on television and for the 49ers on radio. He left the 49ers' radio booth after the 1997 season.

Ask him what he misses most about broadcasting and Walker, 72, likens it to what he missed when his playing days ended.

"I missed the camaraderie of the locker room," he said. "Being retired from television, I miss the camaraderie of the announce booth. I miss the camaraderie of the sports office."

If he were in a sports office these days, he'd probably be taking some needling. His two teams, the University of Idaho and the Lions, have fallen on rock-hard times, lowlighted by Detroit's 0-16 record last season.

"I've got a whole closet full of Lions and Idaho gear that I don't put on much anymore," Walker said with a laugh.

Clearly, though, the fact he put on a Detroit uniform for 200 games over 15 seasons understandably rates as a point of pride.

"I won the job as a rookie and they didn't have to worry about my position for 15 years," Walker said. "I started as a rookie and I started the last game I played. ...

"I've told my grandkids this: I was proud of the fact that I could actually tell people - and say it and know that it's the truth - I never took a game off. I never took a play off. I never took a practice off - and I really don't even remember taking a play off in practice. I went every day as hard as I could."

That mind-set helped Walker two years ago when he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Enduring both radiation and chemotherapy treatments, he lost about 60 pounds.

"I dealt with it basically the same way I played," Walker said. "I woke up every day and figured out what I had to do. Even if I didn't feel like doing it, I had to do it. ...

"You can't look down the road with cancer; I know it sounds trite, but you have to take it day by day. Just do what you can that day. And then the next day, do what you can that day."

Now that he's healthy again and has regained most of the weight he lost, "I'm to the point where I appreciate every day so much," Walker said.